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by Charles Lear, author of “The Flying Saucer Investigators.”

On March 30, and 31, 1993, reports of a UFO over Southern England came in to the Ministry of Defense. Nick Pope was manning the “UFO desk” at the time, and he described that “the phones were ringing off the hook.” He posted a description of the most dramatic reports on February 20, 2007, on the Physics Forum website. He appeared in a 2009 7 News Spotlight (an Australian program) segment presented by Russ Coulthart and described himself as “broadly skeptical” and his investigation of this series of reports as “the turning point.” Pope described the case in his 1996 book, “Open Skies, Closed Minds,” which helped to make it a classic, but Jenny Randles of the British UFO Research Association suspected that some of the sightings were of a satellite rocket booster from Cosmos 2235 (sent up by the Commonwealth of Independent States) re-entering the atmosphere. One report from RAF Shawbury that was described by Pope was later reconsidered by the witness as also having a prosaic explanation. Because the file (Part 1, Part 2) on the case was released to the public by the MoD, the details of the case can be examined by anyone with an interest.

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by Charles Lear, author of “The Flying Saucer Investigators.”

This is the third part in a series looking at two separate encounters in Winchester, England, with UFOs and humanoids reported by two friends, 42-year-old Joyce Bowles and 58-year-old Ted Pratt. They reported that as Bowles was driving with Pratt in the passenger seat prior to their first encounter, Bowles’s Cooper Mini Clubman travelled diagonally as if it was floating after the steering wheel locked, and the car came to a rest on a strip of grass (known as a “verge” in England) next to the road. They said they then saw a craft hovering 18 inches above the ground with 3 humanoids behind a window or windows sitting lined up as if they were on a bus. A creature left the craft, possibly by walking through it, came up to the car, and seemed to have put its hand on the roof as it looked in Bowles’s window. It was said to have been wearing what looked like a silver “boiler suit” and to have had long hair that curled up in the back, sideburns that came down to a pointed beard, and brilliant red eyes with no pupils or irises. They said that during their second encounter, they found themselves standing next to Bowles’s car inside what they assumed was a spaceship. The creatures spoke with them, said they weren’t there to invade and that they’d be back. Their case got the interest of researchers from various organizations and there is one article examining it in the March/April 1977 BUFORA Journal and FOUR articles in the February 1977, Vol. 22, No. 5 Flying Saucer Review. In the course of the investigation, it came out that there were after-effects and that Bowles had a history of reported paranormal experiences and well as healing and psychic abilities. One of the researchers, Lionel Beer, reported in his article in the BUFORA Journal that Bowles’s history made him dubious, but he and the others didn’t discount her claims, possibly due to the influence the ideas of John Keel and Jacques Vallée were having on researchers at the time. Leslie Harris makes a reference to Vallée’s 1969 book “Passport to Magonia” in his article covering the case in Flying Saucer Review. Read more →

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by Charles Lear, author of “The Flying Saucer Investigators.”

On November 15, 1976, 42-year-old Joyce Bowles, and her 58-year-old friend, Ted Pratt, appeared on the BBC television program South Today.  They were interviewed about their reported encounters with UFOs and humanoids the night before. Their case got the interest of researchers from various organizations and there are FOUR articles examining it in the February 1977, Vol. 22, No. 5 Flying Saucer Review: an article by Bournemouth Unexplained Phenomena Research Group Investigator Leslie Harris headlined “UFO & Silver-Suited Entity Seen Near Winchester,” an article by British UFO Research Association Investigator Richard Nash that consists mostly of a transcription of a tape recorded interview with Bowles and Pratt conducted by Nash, “Questions and Comments on the Nash Interview” by BUFORA Research Coordinator Jenny Randles, and an article by BUFORA Investigator Frank J. Wood based on two reports prepared by him headlined “Alleged CE-III at Winchester: Vehicle Examination,” with the subheading “Together with a few other matters of interest.” There is also an article by Lionel Beer in the March/April BUFORA Journal headlined “The Winchester Encounters. There are several sensational claims in this case, and while it is based on the testimony of two witnesses, Mrs. Bowles had a history of reporting other paranormal encounters, which caused some doubt among researchers. However, Jacques Vallée’s 1969 book, Passport to Magonia, had an impact on the thinking of researchers at that time, as did the work of John Keel, an FSR contributor, and an increasing number were considering the idea that UFOs might be more paranormal in nature than physical craft being piloted by extraterrestrials.

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Prologue by Martin Willis: Charles Lear suggested that I repost this blog in honor of the loss of dear friend, and iconic UFO researcher, Lee Speigel last week. I titled it according to what Lee told me his response was to J. Allen Hynek’s request. Hynek asked him to travel to North Carolina to meet with police officers experiencing a repeating encounter with a triangle UFO. Lee’s response was; “You want me to go to North Carolina to check out a flying Dorito? Of course I will, I am in!”

by Charles Lear (re-post)

It is often the case with UFO investigators that once they get to an area where a UFO has been reported, the UFO is long gone, and all they can do is interview witnesses. This is important as a means of creating a record of the case that can be referred to by future investigators and researchers. But, occasionally an investigator gets the chance to be a witness and actually observe what had been reported. This happened to investigator Lee Speigel who was looking into a series of sightings by as many as thirty police officers and 50 civilians in Lumberton, North Carolina in 1975. Spiegel submitted a report on the case to the director of the Center for UFO Studies and former Project Blue Book scientific consultant, J. Allen Hynek. The case file resides in the archives housed by David Marler in New Mexico.

Along with Speigel’s report and contemporary newspaper clippings, there is also a series of paper slips in the file folder containing call information, presumably filled out at a CUFOS UFO call center. (If anyone can confirm this, please comment.) According to Speigel’s report, a violent thunderstorm in the area ended at 1:35 a.m. on April 3, 1975. A “call slip” in the case file has the information that at 1:45 a.m., Sheriff Ronn Thompson was monitoring the radio while working as the dispatcher at the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office in Lumberton when the first report of a strange object came in. It was seen by Robeson County Officer Phil Stanton and then by two officers from St. Paul. All three described the object as v-shaped with red, blue, and clear lights. A slip with 5:15 a.m., filled in for the time has the information that two Sampson County officers saw a similar object that put a spotlight on them as it moved off. One of the officers “clocked it” at 200 mph. It appears that there was a full fledge flap after 10:00 p.m. that night because a slip with 10:15-10:30 p.m. filled in for the time has information on the back that officers from four different police departments and 50 “citizens” reported seeing something.

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It greaves me to announce, a wonderful friend, and one of the true icons of the UFO world, Lee Speigel passed away from a short-term illness on August 15.

*NEW Help Send Lee Speigel’s ashes into space! https://rb.gy/ym1ns

Lee Speigel has presented credible, compelling stories about UFOs, Science and the Paranormal since 1975, when he produced and wrote a documentary record album, “UFOs: The Credibility Factor,” for CBS Inc. This marked the first time that a major recording company offered a UFO-related product to the public via a prime time TV infomercial. During production of his UFO album, Speigel and numerous law enforcement officers were involved in a historic UFO encounter in Lumberton, No. Carolina — the first well-documented, multiple witness, triangular-shaped UFO incident in America, highlighted in David Marler’s 2013 book, “Triangular UFOs: An Estimate of the Situation.” In 1978, Speigel’s second attempt at UFO disclosure took place on a world stage when he became the only person in history to produce a milestone presentation on UFOs at the United Nations. Under the sponsorship of Grenada, he brought together leading military and scientific experts (including astronomers J. Allen Hynek and Jacques Vallee), who urged world leaders to establish an international UFO study committee. Read more →